By way of non-limiting example only, a cloud-based system refers to a network of connected computing and communication resources. A cloud-based system may represent a packet-switched network, like the Internet. The network may contain transmission lines, repeaters, routers, network backbones, network interconnect points, etc., depending upon the extent of the network which it represents. Voice over Internet Protocol (“VoIP”) is a general term for a family of transmission technologies for delivery of voice communications over Internet Protocol (“IP”) networks such as the Internet or other packet-switched networks.
When establishing a VoIP session over a traditional Time Division Multiplex (“TDM”) or IP based communication system, a client or endpoint (irrespective of whether it is hardware or software based) configures and registers itself with a specific service or provider. For example, a Skype™ user downloads a Skype™ client on a laptop or on a phone, and registers for the services. A TDM based system uses an E.164 based phone number to make a phone call. However, if a service does not exist for any reason (e.g. overload, disaster, etc.), a VoIP session may not be established.
Accordingly, there is a need to support computing and communications services using the available resources of a cloud-based system without any significant investments for building and maintenance of networks, storage, servers, network management, operations, and provisioning systems.